Woods Services Gains Zoning Flexibility For Campus

Part of the Woods Services’ campus in Middletown Township. Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

Woods Services, a nonprofit serving individuals with disabilities, received approval from the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors for an overlay district on part of its sprawling property as it looks to its future.

The supervisors voted 4-1 Monday evening to approve the Community Development Transitional Overlay District, which covers 113 acres of Woods Services’ property in the township.

Woods Services, which provides healthcare and support services to more than 50,000 individuals across southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, sought the overlay district to address longstanding zoning issues, representatives said.

The organization’s campus is currently zoned R1 (residential), making its operations non-conforming uses and slowing down proposals for change as they wind through the public review process.

“This ordinance is a shot in the arm and a positive direction to allow Woods to continue to thrive, grow and be viable here,” said Mike Meginniss, the attorney representing Woods Services at the meeting.

The overlay district permits uses such as business or medical offices, a pharmacy, limited retail stores, a guest house for visiting families, and educational facilities. These facilities already are and would be used for Woods Services or related entities.

Simon Kimmelman, senior executive vice president and chief operating and legal officer for Woods Services, said the organization is adjusting to changing the way it serves its clients and employees. The on-campus client population has decreased and more of its services are provided in the community, but there are many services and administrative functions still provided on the property.

“We’re not closing up shop, and we’re not going to abandon the residents we have here. We have this beautiful piece of land,” Kimmelman told LevittownNow.com in an interview earlier this year.

“We’ve always been a good neighbor and we are carefully planning for the future,” Kimmelman said.

The approved overlay district is a scaled back version of Woods Services’ original proposal, which included additional uses such as banks, restaurants, and specialty hospitals.

The approved ordinance focuses on uses that support the organization’s mission, Meginniss said.

Apartment, which are planned in two phases, is a proposal Woods Services’ will be making before the township and allowed under the ordinance.

The first phase includes 42 units, with 20 percent reserved for individuals with disabilities and the remainder designated as attainable housing. The second phase would add 28 units, bringing the total to 70.

To qualify for attainable housing, a single person applying for a one-bedroom apartment must earn approximately $48,200 annually.

“This is around the salaries of our first-year teachers in the district, home health professionals,” said Dawn Diamond, CEO of Woods Services.

The sign outside the Woods Services’ campus in Middletown Township. Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

The apartment plan still requires going through the township land development process.

Residents raised concerns about future development, but supervisors emphasized the overlay district provides more control over development than the previous zoning.

Supervisor Mike Ksiazek said the ordinance “actually gives us, as the Board of Supervisors, a lot more control and input and power than we typically ever have when it comes to land development.”

Supervisor Dana Kane cast the dissenting vote and expressed concern about the ordinance’s language regarding open space preservation.

“I wish there was more teeth to the ability to preserve,” Kane said. “I think we should have put a little bit more teeth into the ordinance and not leaving it up to a future board.”

Supervisor Bernadette Hannah supported the overlay and citing Woods Services’ value to the community. On the proposed apartment building, she cited the need for attainable housing.

Woods Services has an agreement of sale with BET Investments for a 20-acre parcel at the corner of Maple Avenue (Route 213) and North Flowers Mill Road for mixed-use retail and residential apartments. That property is not included in the zoning overlay.

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